1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an outer cutter for an electric shaver and to an electric shaver.
2. Prior Art
Reciprocating type electric shavers cut whiskers, etc. by means of sliding contact between an inner cutter and an outer cutter. The inner cutter makes a reciprocating motion in the upper part of the main body case of the shaver by a driving mechanism contained in this main body case, and the outer cutter is attached to the supporting frame of the electric shaver so that the outer cutter covers the inner cutter. In such an electric shaver, the outer cutter makes a direct contact with the skin. Accordingly, various modifications have been made in the past in order to improve the contact of the outer cutter with the skin.
FIG. 8 shows the construction of a conventional outer cutter of a reciprocating type electric shaver.
As is shown in FIG. 8, this conventional outer cutter 100 consists of a substantially rectangular thin metal plate which has hair entry apertures (not shown) formed throughout substantially the entire surface of the plate. Furthermore, this thin metal plate is curved so that the cross section of the plate is substantially shaped in the form of an inverted U and is attached to a supporting frame which is installed on the upper end of the main body case of the electric shaver. FIG. 9 shows the conventional outer cutter 100 attached to the supporting frame.
As seen from FIG. 9, the outer cutter 100 of a conventional reciprocating type electric shaver 102 is mounted on the supporting frame 104 in such a manner that the opened areas 100a (see FIG. 8) formed by the curved end portions of the outer cutter 100 are closed off. In other words, when viewed from the side, the supporting frame 104 is formed so as to be larger than the opened areas 100a of the outer cutter. As a result, the skin is guarded by the end portions of the outer cutter 100 so that skin injury is avoided, and so that spillage of cut hair from the opened areas 100a of the outer cutter would not occur.
However, when the top portion 100b of the outer cutter of the electric shaver 102 is pressed against the skin and is moved along the skin so that hair is shaved, there may be cases in which the contact of the outer cutter with the skin is uncomfortable. More specifically, since the outer cutter is mounted on the supporting frame 104, which is formed so that the side surface shape of this frame is larger than the opened areas 100a of the outer cutter, the top portion 104a of the supporting frame (which is higher than the top portion 100b of the outer cutter) contacts the skin when the outer cutter 100 is moved along the skin, so that it is difficult to move the outer cutter smoothly along the skin.
Furthermore, most outer cutters of electric shavers are used with the opened areas at both ends thereof are formed by bending a foil-form thin metal plate and covered by the supporting frame. There has been no novel design along with the improvement of the outer cutter performance.